Linguifex (almost a year ago, I know) wrote:I would like to make the Index Unicode-compatible for ease of searching, but redoing the entire 300+-page document in XeTeX or XeLaTeX or whatever would take me a considerable amount of time. Therefore, I am asking for help.

I think I've figured out how to make a Unicode PDF without having to retyping the whole thing (PDF, TeX source (use with xelatex), though this is based on an old version of Index Diachronica since I don't have the TeX source for the most recent version). (Mostly it just involved changing around the \usepackage statements, and also \ipa in section headings needed to be changed, and also a font that has all the characters.)

I've also made a webpage where you can search for sound changes involving a specific sound (again based on an old version).

The webpage is what we all longed for in our dreams
Hope it gets updated soon

Indeed, good job well done. This makes answering a lot of questions easy. Updated content would of course be nice and the presentation can always be fine tuned (a somewhat better contrast for the font colour and giving more structure to the searchable IPA table would be nice), but these are all secondary issues.

On your computer, does it look more like the left screenshot or the right screenshot (or neither)? (In other words, is the problem the colors I've actually chosen, or is the problem a browser compatibility issue?) (Spoilered for size)

I see it like the left screenshot in both Firefox and Chromium. The light blue is easier with the orange text of the unopened links compared to the darker one (I see very little contrast between the links and the background on the top line "chridd » Conlangs » Searchable Index Diachronica") but the colour is still somewhat lightish on the light background. I find that this makes some of the characters with smaller diacritics difficult to recognise without taking a second look. Increasing the font size on the IPA should also help.

The larger size helps readability but it also forces the cells in many case quite tall. But then again, many of the cells have a large number of cells anyway and should probably be split into smaller parts. For example length and no audible release could in my view be merged under the base consonants in the table and only be separated on the pages listing the sound changes. There are also some symbols associated with certain reconstructions (like the PIE palatals) that could be grouped under probably corresponding IPA to help with the crowding.

Or course, if it's just a tool occasionally used by a few people, you don't have to worry too much about getting the design just right.

Linguifex, do you consider to hire someone who knows database to make an online database of phonological changes where everyone can search for all known sound changes and the languages where the sound changes occur?

k1234567890y wrote:Linguifex, do you consider to hire someone who knows database to make an online database of phonological changes where everyone can search for all known sound changes and the languages where the sound changes occur?

When I click the link to the latest version of the Index, it redirects me to a page that just says that it's not there anymore, and that it might have been moved or made private. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Have I missed something?

shimobaatar wrote:When I click the link to the latest version of the Index, it redirects me to a page that just says that it's not there anymore, and that it might have been moved or made private. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Have I missed something?

Dropbox, for some reason, changed all Public folders to Private. I'm going to have to find another solution. In the meantime chridd has the latest version up on his site.

shimobaatar wrote:When I click the link to the latest version of the Index, it redirects me to a page that just says that it's not there anymore, and that it might have been moved or made private. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Have I missed something?

Dropbox, for some reason, changed all Public folders to Private. I'm going to have to find another solution. In the meantime chridd has the latest version up on his site.

shimobaatar wrote:When I click the link to the latest version of the Index, it redirects me to a page that just says that it's not there anymore, and that it might have been moved or made private. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Have I missed something?

Dropbox, for some reason, changed all Public folders to Private. I'm going to have to find another solution. In the meantime chridd has the latest version up on his site.